Tokyo Mew Mew: Reborn
by Faunamon
Summary: What if the Mew Mews had their animal parts all the time? What if the public saw them as freaks and not heroes? When Ichigo Momomiya gains cat ears and is forced to live in a cafe with six other animal girls, can she go from outcast... to superhero? AU
1. Introduction

Tokyo Mew Mew: Reborn

**Introduction**

What you are about to read is a Tokyo Mew Mew fanfiction.

However, it's not exactly a normal fanfiction.

The entire point of this fic is to completely retell the story of the original series a bit more realistically and much more seriously. In order to do, several changes have been made to the characters, including their ages and relationships. Both Berry Shirayuki, a character introduced in the sequel manga Tokyo Mew Mew a la Mode, and Ringo Akai, a character introduced in the Playstation game, will appear as well.

The reason for this introduction, in fact, is because of the appearances of Berry and Ringo. Yes, they _are _both official characters designed by Mia Ikumi and used in the series at one point or another. However, because they did not appear in the anime, few fans know much about either of them. Several parts of their characters will be changed and edited, so if you are not familiar with these two characters, I would like you to look up information about them before reading this fanfiction. For instance, in the video game, Ringo gained her powers from Mew Aqua that activated near her pet penguin, and was not actually infused. In this story, however, she will be infused, although she will still not show any animal characteristics.

If you took the time to look them up before continuing, then thank you very much. It will definitely help you to understand this story a little bit better.

Thank you,

~Faunamon


	2. Chapter 1: Mew Ichigo

Tokyo Mew Mew: Reborn

**Chapter One: Mew Ichigo**

* * *

Ichigo Momomiya sighed.

Today, she'd gone on her very first date, and with the most popular boy in school – Masaya Aoyama. Masaya was 15 years old, the same age as Ichigo, with sleek black hair, warm chocolate eyes, and a nearly constant smile. He was smart and athletic, a star member of the kendo team, and always very polite. On the outside, he looked perfect, and almost every girl in Ichigo's school was madly in love with him.

To Ichigo herself, however… he was _boring_.

Masaya was a bit of a know-it-all, and despite Ichigo's protests, he'd insisted on coming to an endangered species exhibit for the date. Ichigo had listened as he talked about the Iriomote wildcat, but lost interest when he began to lecture about every single animal in the exhibit. She didn't really care about frogs or bats, and she especially didn't care while on a date. On a date, she would rather have gotten to know Masaya – not every endangered fern across the entire world.

It wasn't that Ichigo didn't care about the animals; she really did, and sincerely felt sad that so many species were in danger of becoming extinct. But in her opinion, there was a time and place for everything, and a first date was just not the time.

Besides that, Masaya's smile was much less constant outside of school. Ichigo suspected that he merely kept up a polite and happy façade to please his fans – almost as soon as she'd met him at the train station, he had begun to complain about the weather. His complaints didn't stop there, however, and he'd even criticized her outfit at one point. Apparently, a short-sleeved yellow shirt didn't go well with Ichigo's denim skirt.

Currently, Masaya was somewhere in the exhibit, listening to a lecture on the aurora trout. Ichigo didn't particularly want to hear an elderly man drone on about fish for an hour, so she'd told Masaya that she would wait for him in the park nearby. Sitting on a bench, she checked her watch.

The lecture should have ended thirty minutes ago.

Hearing footsteps coming towards her, Ichigo looked up, quickly brushing a strand of dark red hair from her eye. She could see Masaya approaching, a white paper bag in his arms.

"I can't believe that in an endangered animal exhibit, the gift shop still uses paper bags," he ranted as he sat down on the bench next to Ichigo.

"You're late," Ichigo informed him, tapping her watch.

"I know," Masaya said, not seeming apologetic in the least. He reached into the bag and pulled out a small stuffed animal. "I bought you this, though." Handing her the plush, he added in, as if she were stupid, "It's an Iriomote cat."

"I can see that," Ichigo grumbled, fighting the urge to snap at the boy. Looking at the stuffed cat, she had to admit that it was pretty cute. Still, it wouldn't be buying her any more dates with Masaya.

"Momomiya-san…"

Ichigo looked at Masaya, wondering what he wanted to say. "Yes, Aoyama-kun?"

"Well…" Masaya looked down, seeming a bit embarrassed… or regretful. "I don't really think we should go out again."

_YES! _Ichigo thought. Out loud, she innocently inquired, "Why not?"

"Well, um…" Masaya put his arm behind his head, seeming unsure of what to say. "How do I put this…"

Looking directly at Ichigo, their brown eyes interlocking, Masaya suddenly told a blunt and honest truth.

"I think you're kind of… whiny. I mean… 'Aoyama-kun, when is this over?' 'Aoyama-kun, couldn't we do something else?' 'Aoyama-kun, I'm so thirsty!'" Masaya rolled his eyes. "I wanted to scream, Momomiya-san."

Ichigo's mouth fell open, and she could feel her right eye begin to twitch. For what seemed like a century, she stared at Masaya, trying to think of words that could even begin to express what she wanted to say.

Finally, she simply snapped.

"How… how _dare _you!" she exclaimed, standing up as quickly as she could. "You… I never even want to _see _you again! And you can keep this!" she added, throwing the cat at his chest with as much force as possible. Without even checking to see if she'd hit her mark, Ichigo turned and ran, tears streaming down her face.

_Why did my first date have to be like this?_

Ichigo continued to run, not paying attention to where she was going, until finally she tripped, flying forward and hitting her head against a tall sign. "Ouch!" she exclaimed, awkwardly regaining her balance and rubbing her aching forehead. Seeing the sign that had caused her so much pain, she realized that it announced the presence of a large café standing only a few feet away.

"Café Shirobara?" she mused aloud, reading the words from the sign. The café looked almost like a castle, with two tower-shaped stories, heart-shaped windows, and drawbridge-like double doors. Its interior was mostly white, but the doors, windows, and tips of the upper towers were a beautiful golden hue. A lighter gold graced the tips of the lower towers as well as the offensive sign, and the café overall had a very angelic look about it.

"It's beautiful," Ichigo breathed. Despite the unpleasantness of its original discovery, it seemed as if the restaurant was pulling her in, begging her to try its dishes. _Have a brownie, Ichigo, and maybe a little tea._

Ichigo took one step towards the café, then stopped, a look of surprise crossing her face. Was it only her imagination, or had the windows begun to glow?

No, it hadn't been her imagination… and it wasn't only the windows. Looking up at the very top of the roof, Ichigo could now see a winged cat statue that appeared to be made of something similar to white gold. Its eyes, bright red and ruby-like, were also glowing with an eerie, pale light. Ichigo stared, unsure of what to do. She wanted to run, but couldn't seem to find the strength to move her legs.

It all happened so suddenly.

One moment, Ichigo was finally turning to run away, a terrified scream forming in her throat. The next, the cat's eyes glowed completely white, and a huge beam of pure white light shot out, straight towards Ichigo. Ichigo tried to leap out of the way, but it was too late. The light caught her on the right leg and spread out over her body until Ichigo was glowing as brightly as the eyes of the statue. The scream finally escaped her throat at this point, but was cut off as everything around her went black.

* * *

_Where… am I?_

When Ichigo finally began to wake up, it took her a few moments to recollect her thoughts. For a brief second, she had no idea where she was or what she was doing there.

Almost immediately, however, her memories came flooding back – the café, the statue… and the light.

_That couldn't have really happened, _Ichigo told herself, pulling herself into a sitting position. _I must have dreamed it. _Looking down at herself, however, she found a few small tears in her clothing, and the ribbon from one of her ponytails was lying on the ground in front of her. Yes, she realized, she could feel the hair on the left side of her head pressing closer to her face than usual.

But what had happened? After she'd come here, after running away from Masaya… how long ago had that been? Looking up at the sky, she could see that it was a pinkish-orange color – sunset.

"Oh, no!" she exclaimed aloud, leaping to her feet. "My parents will be worried sick! I have to get home!" Ichigo started to run in what she thought was the direction of her house, but tripped on her tail and ended up flat on her face.

"Ouch," Ichigo muttered, pulling herself up once again. "My tail got in the way…"

Suddenly, something struck her.

"I… have… a… tail," she stated. Twisting around to look, Ichigo could see what looked like a long, black cat's tail, extending from under her skirt.

Reaching up to feel the top of her head, Ichigo found two pointed, furry structures beneath her hands. Feeling at the sides of her head, she realized that her ears were gone – or at least, the ears she'd _used _to have were gone.

"And my ears have changed."

A short moment of silence followed.

"I HAVE A TAIL! AND MY EARS HAVE CHANGED!" Ichigo's earsplitting scream pierced the very sky as her mind began to reel with fear and confusion. How had this happened? Did it have something to do with the café and its mysterious light? How would she _possibly _explain this to her parents?

"Over here!" someone called from only a few yards away.

Masaya.

The sound of running footsteps approached – the footsteps of approximately four people. Masaya wasn't alone.

"I have to run away!" Ichigo whispered frantically, turning to escape. Unfortunately, it was too late, and Masaya burst from the nearby bushes, followed by a police officer. After the officer came Ichigo's mother, Sakura, and her father, Shintaro.

"Ichigo!" Sakura called, seeming undaunted by her daughter's strange appearance. Shintaro, however, nearly burst into tears as soon as he laid eyes on her.

"Ichigo! What… what's happened to you?" he cried, running faster and overtaking the rest of the group. Before Ichigo could make her escape, Shintaro ran up beside her and threw his arms around her, pressing her head against his chest.

"Wait… wait!" Ichigo exclaimed, pushing away from her father. "Dad, how did you know where to find me? Why is a police officer here?"

"When you ran away from me, I followed you," Masaya explained. "I saw you get hit by a light ray from the top of this café, and when you fainted, you grew cat ears and a tail."

"So you went and told the _police_?" Ichigo yelled in disbelief. "Are you _crazy_?"

"Well, they thought I was," Masaya testified. "That's the only reason it took me so long to get back to you. They called the school, my parents, my doctor… basically everyone who could confirm that I wasn't completely insane. They finally agreed to investigate, but thought we should call your parents. We had to look up their phone number, and…"

"Okay, I get it!" Ichigo interrupted, tears welling up in her dark brown eyes. "I get it already! But what's happened to me? Why am I like this?"

"That's what we're trying to find out," the police officer replied, speaking for the first time. "My name is Officer Kobayashi, and I'd like to take you back to the police station until we can figure out what to do with you."

"What to _do _with her?" Sakura gasped. "What are you talking about?"

"Well, we don't know much about what's happened to her. She could be a danger to society," Officer Kobayashi explained. "For the good of all Tokyo, I don't really think we should allow her to live at home."

"_What?_" Shintaro exclaimed furiously. "How dare you?" Pulling his fist back, he seemed about to strike at the policeman, but Sakura stood in his way.

"Shintaro, if you think that you can change his mind with violence…!" Although Sakura was preventing her husband from attacking Kobayashi, tears had begun to stream down her face, and she clearly did not want to accept what the officer was saying, either.

Laying his hand on Sakura's shoulder, Kobayashi told her in a low voice, "Everything will be alright. We won't let anyone experiment on her, if that's what you're worried about."

"But my daughter!" Shintaro protested.

Ichigo had simply watched on in shock until this point. Finally, she couldn't take it any longer. She had to get away.

As soon as Ichigo tried to run, Kobayashi yelled to Masaya, "Aoyama, grab her!" Masaya did what he was told, and despite her struggling, Ichigo could not escape.

"Ichigo… Sakura, Shintaro… I'm sorry," Kobayashi said. "It's time to go to the station now."

* * *

Ichigo felt nothing but fear as she sat in a chair at the police station, waiting for Kobayashi to finish consulting with his superiors. Masaya had left for his own home not long after arriving at the station, but Ichigo's parents sat on either side of her, their arms wrapped around her understandingly. All of them were silent, looking down with tears in their eyes.

The station door opened suddenly, and someone walked in. "Ichigo!"

Ichigo looked up to see her two best friends, Moe Yanagida and Miwa Honjo. In perfect unison, the two blinked their brown eyes twice, then exclaimed, "It's true!"

"Yeah," Ichigo replied, wiping her tears away and forcing a smile. "It's true."

"How in the world did it happen?" Miwa asked in astonishment. Her short brown hair seemed slightly disheveled, as did Moe's blonde bob, and Ichigo realized for the first time that she could hear the wind howling loudly outside the police station.

"Yeah, Ichigo!" Moe added. "Girls just don't grow cat ears and a tail every day!"

"Well…" Ichigo replied quietly. "I found this café, and I wanted to go in… but then a light came out of a statue on the roof and hit me, and then this happened."

Moe and Miwa looked at each other, seeming slightly disbelieving. "That's… a pretty crazy story," Miwa said.

"Not much stranger than the fact that our best friend is half cat, though," pointed out Moe.

"Speaking of that," replied Miwa, seeming to forget that Ichigo was even there. "I heard that they're going to make her go away from home."

"Will we still be able to call her?" Moe wondered.

"If you guys want, you can wait here and find out," Ichigo pointed out flatly. "We'll be finding out all the details ourselves in a little while."

"Um, ok," Moe agreed, nodding, and she and Miwa sat down in two of the chairs near Sakura.

After what seemed like an eternity, Officer Kobayashi finally reappeared. "Well, I spoke with my superiors, and we decided that it would be best to contact the owners of Café Shirobara," he explained. "We called about ten minutes ago, but the café's not far away, so we expect them to arrive soon."

"Why did you do that?" Moe inquired.

"Well, the café is where Ichigo was… changed," Kobayashi explained. "We think that Shirogane and Akasaka – the two men who work at the café – will probably know what happened."

At exactly that moment, two men appeared in the doorway. One was blonde with bright blue eyes and looked like he could be partly or fully American. He appeared to be about 16 or 17 years old. The other, who seemed to be in his twenties, had long, brown hair pulled back into a ponytail, large brown eyes, and a perpetual smile. While the blonde was dressed casually, in a green and white jacket with purple jeans, the brunette wore an outfit that seemed to match his occupation as a café worker, with a button-up shirt, tie, and black pants held up by suspenders.

"Are you…" Looking down at a sheet of paper held in his hand, Kobayashi read, "Ryou Shirogane and Keiichiro Akasaka?"

"Yes," said the brunette, who continued to smile for unknown reasons. "I'm Keiichiro, and this is Ryou," he added, waving his hand towards the blonde.

"And do you know anything about this?" another officer asked, appearing behind Kobayashi and pointing towards Ichigo.

"This?" Ichigo repeated angrily. _What am I, some sort of new germ?_

"Actually, yes," Keiichiro admitted. "For reasons much too complicated to explain, we have infused this young girl with the DNA of an Iriomote wildcat."

"You _what?_" Ichigo gasped. _And of _course _it had to be an Iriomote wildcat! _she added to herself.

"We'll tell you all about it later!" Ryou told her, quite rudely.

"So, you are responsible for the transformation of this girl, then," Kobayashi stated, asking for conformation.

Ryou nodded. "We are, as well as the creation of six others."

"Well, we're not exactly happy about that," the other officer informed him. "We don't want… creatures like this running loose in the city!"

"Creatures?" Sakura repeated with shock.

"What he's trying to say is, we don't know what behavioral changes might occur from this infusion," Kobayashi corrected softly. "We do not want this girl to stay at home, where she may hurt others, until we know for sure."

"We'd be more than happy to take her back to our café," Keiichiro offered.

"That works," the second policeman agreed.

"Let's set some guidelines," suggested Kobayashi. "First of all, you'll have to find and house all seven girls in this café until further notice. Therefore, you must close your café for now. You should leave them with a female guardian at night, but they must not be allowed outside without one of you as a chaperone – and at some point, we want you to explain to us exactly why you've preformed these experiments. If you're not careful, it may land you behind bars."

"We understand," Ryou agreed with a nod.

"I'll be the nighttime chaperone, if that's okay," put in Sakura.

"That would be fine," Kobayashi confirmed.

"Wait, wait! This is all happening too fast!" Ichigo exclaimed. "So I'm going to go live in Café Shirobara?"

"That's right," Keiichiro said; Ichigo noticed that he hadn't yet stopped smiling. "Of course, we'll need to know your name."

Tears once again forming in her eyes, Ichigo managed to blurt out, "I… Ichigo… Momomiya."

"Ichigo," the unnamed police officer snorted. "With ears like that, she should be called _Mew _Ichigo!"

"Are you ready to go, miss?" Keiichiro asked.

Ichigo shook her head, but followed him and Ryou out of the police station anyway after saying her tearful goodbyes. As she struggled to take in the events of the day, a single, clear thought found its way into her head.

_Worst. Date. __**Ever.**_


	3. Chapter 2: A New Life

Tokyo Mew Mew: Reborn

**Um… yeah, sorry about the lack of updates on both my stories lately. I have no explanation, but I decided it was about time to start writing…**

* * *

**Chapter Two: A New Life**

The wind still blew incredibly harshly as Ichigo stepped into the back of Ryou and Keiichiro's car, careful not to close the door on her tail. A small part of her mind was frantically trying to warn her against getting into the car of two perfect strangers. The rest of her mind was telling that part to go fly a kite. After all, basic logic didn't really matter now that she was part cat.

Keiichiro climbed into the driver's seat, struggling to keep his ponytail out of the air, and Ryou sat beside him. In a few moments, the car began to slowly drive away from the police station. Ichigo wanted to say something, to ask some sort of question, but she couldn't think of anything to say at all. Finally, Ryou spoke.

"So, I bet you're wondering exactly how and why you became like this."

For a long time, Ichigo said nothing. Finally, words began to spill out of her mouth with little thought. "Of course I'm wondering! And how could you take me away from my family? That's just cruel! I can't believe you did this to me! What was the _point_? What was the _purpose_? I –"

Ryou cut her off, saying, "We'll explain everything once we get to the café."

For the rest of the ride, Keiichiro was the only one who dared to speak, making a cheery attempt at small talk. If he realized that no one was listening, he didn't care, as he only stopped talking once the car actually pulled into a parking lot a few yards away from Café Shirobara. Ryou and Keiichiro then climbed out of the car, and Ichigo slowly followed.

The three of them continued down the path that led to the café's front door, fighting against the heavy wind the entire time. Once they arrived at the entrance, Keiichiro stopped and pulled out a key. He reached towards the door, about to unlock it, when someone screamed.

Keiichiro froze. He, Ichigo, and Ryou looked up in shock; each was looking in a different direction, unable to pinpoint the location of the screamer over the sounds of the windstorm.

"What… was that?" Ichigo whispered. No one seemed to hear her; instead, the others continued to stare off into space, as if that would somehow help them to find the origin of the noise.

Even more confused than ever, Ichigo looked up and to the right. Seemingly by chance, she suddenly realized where the scream had come from – for there, clinging desperately to the branch of a tree that just happened to be in the exact spot Ichigo was looking, was a girl.

The girl seemed to be rather short, at least half a head shorter than Ichigo, and had very dark blue hair pulled up in two buns, with a few strands hanging down in front of her ears. She wore a dress that was also dark blue, although a lighter shade than her hair and with a white collar, and the back of the bodice was ripped to shreds.

It was the ripped dress which made the wings on her back much more noticeable. Like the garment, they were blue, although a much lighter color. Underneath the skirt of her dress, there seemed to be a bulge, indicating that she had a tail as well.

Ichigo gasped. "Shirogane, Akasaka-san! Look!" she cried, raising her voice against the wind.

Ryou and Keiichiro looked at Ichigo; seeing the direction in which she was staring, they turned their heads to look into the tree as well.

"Is that another one?" asked Ichigo, even though she already knew the answer. "Another girl like me?"

Ryou nodded. "Yes, she is. That's the girl who obtained Ultramarine Lorikeet DNA."

"Help me!" the bird-girl called, her voice nearly drowned in the sounds of the storm.

"What do we do?" Ichigo called. "We can't just leave her there until it stops!"

"Why don't you climb up?" Ryou yelled back.

Ichigo recoiled in shock. "Nya?"

"Ichigo-san, you _are _a cat now," Keiichiro pointed out. "You can probably climb up the tree to get to her."

"But… in this weather?" Ichigo protested desperately.

Keiichiro only shrugged.

With a sigh, Ichigo ran towards the tree as quickly as was possible; the wind had changed direction and was blowing towards her now, and it was nearly impossible to even move against it. After what seemed like a lifetime, Ichigo finally made it to the side of the tree. The bird-girl had not stopped her desperate cries for help, and Ichigo wondered how she would ever make it to the top of the tree, which was almost as tall as Café Shirobara.

_You _are _a cat now. _Keiichiro's words echoed in her head, and she noticed that her eyes were filled with tears – most likely from the wind, but possibly from the reminder of her new life as well. Keiichiro was right, though – she was part cat. She could do it… probably.

Ichigo inched as close to the tree's trunk as possible. Closing her eyes, she held out her arms and leaped onto the tree, praying that the gale wouldn't blow her backwards. Her prayers were answered, and she opened her eyes to find that her fingernails had stuck into the trunk, almost like claws.

Ichigo began to gradually work her way up the tree, becoming steadily more determined to reach the top. Reaching the first branch, which was on the right side of the tree, Ichigo slowly climbed onto it, making sure to keep the nails of her left hand embedded in the trunk. The bird-girl was still much higher up, but Ichigo was at least getting closer.

Eventually, Ichigo had clawed her way up the trunk until she was positioned directly under the bird-girl. Pulling herself up onto the branch where the blue-haired girl was trapped, keeping one hand on the trunk like before, she stretched her other arm out towards the girl, but found that she was still too far away to reach her. "Of course," she hissed under her breath. There was only one thing that Ichigo could do to save the bird-girl, but it was extremely risky. Taking a deep breath, she decided to do it – after all, there was really no other choice.

Pulling her nails out of the tree trunk, Ichigo dropped until she was clinging with all four limbs to the branch. Carefully, she began to inch her way forward, holding on as tightly as possible in an effort to avoid being blown away. After what seemed like a lifetime, Ichigo was finally close enough to the bird-girl to reach out and grab her hand. Stretching out her arm, she yelled as loudly as she could, "Come on, take my hand!"

"Are you _crazy_?" the blue-clad girl yelled back. "If I do that, I'll blow away!"

"No, you won't! Just let go with one hand, and you'll be okay!"

Slowly and obviously reluctantly, the blue-haired girl let go of the branch with her left hand. Reaching towards Ichigo, she and the catgirl grasped each other's hands, but she was clearly still frightened. "Now how are you supposed to get us down from here?" she asked, fear evident in her voice.

Ichigo froze; she hadn't thought of that, and thinking about it now, she realized that she had no idea how to get down now that she'd climbed up. The winged girl simply stared at her, seeming to wait for some sort of explanation.

Ichigo didn't need to think long. A huge gust of wind suddenly blasted the two girls from the side; they struggled to stay in the tree, but to no avail. Both of them were blown off the branch and sent tumbling to the ground.

Ichigo screamed. As the two girls fell, side by side, the blue-haired girl suddenly spread her wings and began to hover in place, although she had to struggle desperately not to be blow away. Ichigo, however, continued to fall. She squeezed her eyes shut tightly. _Is this the end?_

Suddenly, she wasn't falling anymore. Opening her eyes in surprise, Ichigo realized that she had landed on her feet – just like a cat. A scream from the other girl caught her attention; turning her head, she saw the girl being blown through the air only a few inches away. Ichigo reached out and caught her hand, pulling her back down to the ground.

"Thanks…" the girl said, seeming unwilling to express her gratitude. Ichigo was slightly annoyed, but decided to introduce herself anyway.

"I'm Ichigo Momomiya," she called.

"...I'm Mint," replied the winged girl. Ichigo could see that, for now, that was the only response she was going to get.

"Come with me," she instructed, turning and heading back to the café. Ryou and Keiichiro grabbed the two girls' hands as they approached, pulling them closer to the door. Keiichiro unlocked the café, and Ryou flipped on the light switch as the four of them stepped inside.

Café Shirobara was just as gorgeous on the inside as on the outside, with a pure white interior and golden, heart-shaped chairs. The tables were round, their tops featured interchanging rings of gold and white, and their stands were a luminous gold. A gleaming white counter sat near the entrance, with a golden cash register on top. The entire place was beautiful and spotless, but Ichigo didn't think that it would make a very good home. Turning her head to the side, Ichigo could see Mint looking around with interest, which quickly changed to frustration as she turned to face Ryou and Keiichiro.

"Okay, so what's going on here?" she demanded. "Earlier this morning, I was just about to take my dog Miki for a walk. But then…" Tears began to form in Mint's brown eyes. "Suddenly, wings burst out of my back, ripping up my dress! I think I grew a tail too, and do you know what that meant?" When no one answered her, she finished with exasperation. "It means I had to _run away from home_!"

Ryou and Keiichiro stared; Ryou was unmoved, while Keiichiro looked taken aback with surprise. After a few moments, Ryou calmly answered, "You didn't have to run away from anything. And as for the wings and tail… that was our doing."

"_What_?" Mint screeched. "This is all _your _fault?" Pointing accusingly, she yelled, "Well, thanks to _you_, I was forced to leave behind my super-glamorous and wealthy lifestyle. I wandered around for hours, but suddenly a horrible windstorm picked up, and as you saw earlier, I had to hold onto a tree branch to keep from being blown away!"

Keiichiro stepped forward, attempting a kind smile. "Please, Mint-san, allow us to explain." Bowing low, he introduced himself. "My name is Keiichiro Akasaka, the manager of Café Shirobara."

"Ryou Shirogane, owner," put in Ryou, and Ichigo looked at him in surprise. How could a boy this young own such a beautiful restaurant?

Mint closed her eyes and sniffed; Ichigo couldn't help but think that she seemed to be very snobby. "I am Mint Aizawa, daughter of Kentaro Aizawa and wealthy beyond _your _wildest dreams."

"Oh, so you're fabulously rich, too?" Ryou commented with a smirk. "Small world."

"This is no time for jokes!" Mint spat, rapidly opening her eyes and glaring at him. "I left behind my home! My grandmother, my Miki… and my brother, even if he probably doesn't care. I left it all, and it's all your fault!"

"Mint-san, please calm down," Keiichiro requested soothingly. "Once we explain to you why this has happened, perhaps you'll feel better."

"I doubt it," Mint grumbled.

"I want to know, too!" Ichigo reminded him, raising her hand.

Keiichiro nodded. "We'll explain everything. But, Mint-san… the police have told us that you and Ichigo will need to stay in our café for a while."

"That's fine, I suppose," Mint muttered. "I can't go home anyway, and this place is pretty nice, I suppose."

"Actually, we'll have to call your parents and explain what's happened," Ryou informed her. "They might think we're crazy, but it's for the best."

"My parents are in Europe at present," Mint retorted. "My grandmother is home, but I don't want you to tell her anything. My parents are so stuck up they'll surely never allow me back home!"

"I doubt that," Keiichiro said. "Please come with me, and we'll call your grandmother together."

Mint looked as if she were about to protest, but instead only sighed. "Fine…" Mint followed Keiichiro into what appeared to be the kitchen, leaving Ichigo alone with Ryou.

"So, how are you doin'?" Ryou asked nonchalantly.

"Are you _kidding _me?" Ichigo snapped back. "This has been the weirdest day of my life! Speaking of which, where in the world am I going to sleep tonight?"

Ryou shrugged. "I guess Keiichiro and I will go buy some blankets and blow-up mattresses." Jerking his thumb towards the kitchen, he added, "Although the _princess _may not be too happy with that."

Ichigo buried her face in her hands and moaned. Spending the night in a café on a blow-up mattress along with the snobbiest girl alive? Of course, this wasn't just a one-night sleepover – for all Ichigo knew, it may never end.

The doorbell rang, snapping Ichigo out of her self-pity. Her ears perked up as Ryou moved towards the door, and she watched as he opened it, revealing Sakura standing at the entrance.

"Mom!" Ichigo exclaimed.

"Hi, Ichigo!" Sakura replied perkily. She held a large cardboard box in her arms, and Ichigo could just see the ear of her teddy bear poking out the top. "I brought some of your stuff with me. Your cell phone's in here, too – the police decided you can call your friends if you want, but your cell phone activities should be monitored."

"Man, they treat me like some sort of criminal!" Ichigo complained. "And I can't believe you brought my bear, mom."

"Well, I knew you'd miss her otherwise," Sakura replied, looking slightly hurt.

"A teddy bear?" Ryou asked, a blank expression of surprise on his face. A few seconds later, he began to laugh hysterically. "How old are you, Ichigo – nine?"

"I'm 15, for your information, and there's _nothing _wrong with having a special stuffed animal!" Ichigo fumed. "Kumi-chan is very important to me, for your information!"

"Kumi?" Ryou repeated, still laughing. "You seriously named the thing Kumi? You really couldn't be a little more creative than that? Why not "Beary" – it's basically the same thing, but sounds a lot less stupid in English."

"I didn't name her that just because it sounds like 'kuma,'" Ichigo protested. "I also named her after the aunt who gave her to me, and she moved out of the _country _a week later!"

Ryou stopped laughing and froze, a look similar to guilt appearing on his face. Before he could say anything more, however, Sakura stepped into the café, looking down at the box. "There's a blanket in here, too, so you don't get cold. I'm bringing over some more clothes tomorrow, but your pajamas are in here, along with some new clothes for tomorrow. A toothbrush is -"

A loud crash from the kitchen suddenly cut her off, and Mint screamed shortly after. "How could you _drop _all of those plates at once?" she wailed.

"Who is…" Sakura began, confused.

"That's Mint Aizawa, the second girl Akasaka-san and Shirogane infused," Ichigo explained. "She's a bird… and a snob. We found her on the way to the café – long story, really – and now I have to live with her." Ichigo made a face of disgust in order to ensure that Sakura realized this was a bad thing.

"Oh, Ichigo, it won't be so bad," Sakura reassured her. "Just try to –"

"Excuse me?"

Turning her head, Ichigo saw Keiichiro walking out of the kitchen, followed closely by Mint. It had been Keiichiro who had spoken, and there was a note of urgency to his voice.

"Oh, you're Ichigo's mother, aren't you? I was just about to tell Ichigo and Mint why they have become part animal," he explained.

"Finally!" exclaimed Ichigo.

"Listen closely," instructed Keiichiro. "Ichigo, we have infused you with the DNA of an Iriomote wildcat. Mint, you were infused with the Ultramarine Lorikeet. While this may seem strange and random, our reasons for this are actually rather important."

"We need you to battle aliens," Ryou put in bluntly.

"What?" exclaimed Ichigo, Mint, and Sakura at almost exactly the same time. Fight _aliens_? Ichigo's head began to spin. How was this even possible?

"You see," Keiichiro began to explain, "alien soldiers from the distant planet of Gliese 581 c have begun to invade Earth. They apparently seek to take humans back to their own planet and use them in their armies, although I honestly doubt that we'd be of much use to them."

"Gliese 581 c?" Mint repeated skeptically. "I doubt that's even a real planet."

"Look it up, if you're so sure" Ryou suggested. "We've been calling it Glicie for short, but you'd better search for the full name, just to be certain."

"I can't even spell the full name!"

"The point is," Keiichiro interjected, "that we need you to use your newfound abilities to fight."

"Okay, so how in the world will flying and landing on our feet help us to save the world?" protested Ichigo.

"We're working on special weapons for you to use in this fight," Keiichiro explained. "We have discovered that the aliens have brought some sort of an extraterrestrial parasite to Earth with them. We're not sure what they plan to use them for, but we hope to defeat them before we have to find out."

"There are five other girls with powers like yours," Ryou finished. "Find them and defeat the aliens – that's your mission."

Keiichiro nodded. "Good luck, girls – the fate of our planet is in your hands."

Ichigo could think of nothing to say. She felt faint and only just managed to make her way over to one of the café chairs, sitting down carefully and holding her head between her hands. "This is too much," she moaned.

"This is no job for a super-rich lady!" blurted Mint.

"I'm sorry," Keiichiro apologized softly.

Ichigo knew that he truly meant it, but all that she could think at the time was, _Why me?_


	4. Chapter 3: Mint's Delight

Tokyo Mew Mew: Reborn

**My computer was down so I was unable to update, sorry. I really hope no one is mad at me**

* * *

**Chapter Three: Mint's Delight**

"I just can't believe what you're saying is true," insisted Sakura. "My daughter, one of the seven girls chosen at random to fight off aliens using animal powers?"

"I wouldn't say chosen at _random_," Ryou corrected. "It's just that we, personally, had nothing to do with the decision process."

"I'd say that her ears and tail are proof enough," Keiichiro added quietly.

Ichigo herself was on the brink of tears, and Mint simply looked angry at the world. There was a long moment where no one said a word, as if daring to break the silence would result in dire consequences. Finally, the quiet was disturbed by a knock at the door.

Everyone immediately looked up and stared at the door uncertainly. For a while, no one moved or spoke; finally, Keiichiro muttered under his breath, "Who could that be?" In the stillness of the café, he may as well have shouted these words.

"Should… should we open the door?" asked Sakura slowly.

Even Mint's voice was small and steady as she answered, "I wouldn't think so."

"Yeah, it might be -" began Ichigo, but she cut herself off as Ryou, without warning, began to walk towards the café entrance.

"What are you _doing_?" Mint asked, her expression a mixture of disbelief, shock, and disgust.

"We don't know who that could be!" Sakura put in. "What if they want to hurt Ichigo?"

Ignoring them, Ryou reached out and swung open the double doors. There, standing outside the café, were several cameramen and a reporter, whom Ichigo recognized from the nightly news.

"Arina Kawakubo, here with News Japan!" the reporter yelled into her microphone without even bothering to say hello. Her short, mint green hair and dark blue dress were perfect-looking despite the winds which continued to howl outside, though her cameramen were attempting to hold down their hats and jackets while they filmed. Shoving her way into the café doors, which earned her a surprised yet stern look from Ryou, Arina continued, "I am here to have a short interview with Ichigo Momomiya, who, as earlier reported, recently grew cat ears and a tail at the doing of Café Shirobara's owners. Civilians have taken to calling her 'Mew Ichigo' because of these animalistic features."

"W-wait a second!" Ichigo blurted, standing up quickly. "Who said you could interview me? And who said I would _let _you?"

Turning to face one of the cameras, Arina held up her microphone and stated, "Clearly, the animal instinct has already begun to take over."

Ichigo glared at the reporter's back, fighting an urge to dash over and punch her in the face. _Being so stupid should be criminal._

"Um, excuse me," Sakura interrupted, walking up to stand next to Arina. "I'm Sakura Momomiya, Ichigo's mother, and…"

"So you're an insider, then!" cut in Arina, suddenly shoving her microphone into Sakura's face; Ichigo's mother was forced to lean backwards in order to avoid a bruised nose. "Can you tell us more about your daughter's transformation?"

"Well… um…" stammered Sakura. "I think that Akasaka-kun should answer that question…"

"I'm sorry," answered Keiichiro, shaking his head. "I cannot give you those details yet – Ryou and I have an appointment to explain them to the police, as it is, and I don't think they'd appreciate it if I told you first."

"Well, that's…" began Arina, pulling her microphone back and looking up in Keiichiro's direction. Suddenly, she froze, her eyes flickering to Mint. "H-hold everything! There's another one?!?"

Mint narrowed her eyes. "I have a name, you know!" Crossing her arms and sticking her nose into the air, she declared, "I am Mint Aizawa, daughter of Kentaro Aizawa and –"

"Fascinating!" interjected Arina, walking further into the café with her entourage of cameras following behind. "Mew Mint… Just fascinating."

"_Mew_?" repeated Mint, seemingly aghast. "I'm a _bird_!"

"Tweet Mint, then?"

A few moments of silence followed. Finally, Mint grumbled, "Never mind."

"So, if you don't mind, I have only a few questions to ask all of you before I go."

_And who says I don't mind? _Ichigo thought angrily.

"First, for Mew Ichigo." Pointing her increasingly annoying microphone at the catgirl, Arina asked, "What were your first thoughts upon your change, your… metamorphosis, if you will?"

Pushing aside her thoughts that _metamorphosis_ was not exactly the right word, Ichigo muttered, "I was… scared, and I didn't know what had happened. Also… I guess I didn't want anyone to see me like this and think I was… weird."

Arina smirked, as if she were thinking, _too late_. Turning to face Sakura, she asked, "Sakura, how did you feel upon discovering your daughter in this state?"

"I was just thankful she was alive," Sakura answered honestly. "She's been missing all day, and for hours I'd been praying that –"

Arina suddenly abandoned Sakura, whipping around to face her daughter. "Mew Ichigo, does this mean that upon gaining your unusual ears and tail, you attempted to run away from home?"

"What?" Ichigo replied, shocked. "No!" She was aware of Mint's glaring eyes boring into her from a few yards away, but at the moment could truly not care less. "I was _unconscious _for _hours_, thank you very much!"

"Ichigo would never do such a thing," Sakura added. "She's a good girl."

"Well, _thank you very much_!" burst out Mint, and everyone turned to stare.

"Mew Mint!" exclaimed Arina, dashing towards the blue-haired girl and pointing her microphone forward. "Does this mean that _you _tried to run away?"

"Don't ask about things that are none of your business!" sniffed Mint, pushing Arina away.

"Next," sighed Arina, backing away from the hostile bird-girl. "Since there are two 'Mews' now, how do you feel about assigning a plural term – other than 'animal girls' and 'Mews,' which are boring."

"Um…" Ichigo stared, not quite sure how to react to this bizarre question.

"I know!" exclaimed Arina, suddenly perking up and snapping her fingers excitedly. "How about we call you the 'Mew Mews!' It's brilliant!"

Although Ichigo did not look at any of the others, she was sure that all of them, including the cameramen, were staring as unbelievingly at the green-haired reporter as she was. She felt her eye twitch, and heard Mint say, "What." She thought she may have heard Ryou groan softly, as well.

Without even waiting for an answer, Arina continued, "On a similar topic, how did you react to the news that the well-known model, singer and actress Zakuro Fujiwara may also be a Mew Mew?"

Ichigo looked up in shock; she hadn't actually heard of Zakuro Fujiwara, but just the possibility that a celebrity had undergone the same change she had amazed her all the same. Glancing at Mint, she saw that the bird-girl was staring ahead, mouth agape. _Does she know who Zakuro Fujiwara is?_

Her question was answered a moment later when suddenly Mint sprang to life, her arms flailing about and a tiny scream escaping her lips. "Z-zakuro… Zakuro onee-sama is one of us?!?"

Turning his head to glance at Arina, Ryou said, "I think they reacted a little like that."

"T-this is unbelievable!" Mint exclaimed. She dashed about in a small circle, seeming to forget that she was on live TV at the moment. "Zakuro onee-sama…"

"Mew Mint, are you a fan of Mew Zakuro?" Arina wore a slight smirk, and she seemed to be struggling to keep a note of amusement from her voice. Mint quickly stopped in her tracks, appearing a bit embarrassed.

"W-well, not a _big _fan or anything…" she muttered, wringing her hands together as though nervous.

"But you called her onee-sa –" began Ichigo, but her reminder was cut short as Mint quickly leaped into the air, flew towards her with wings pumping furiously, and clamped a hand over her mouth. Ichigo considered biting her – after all, didn't cats like the taste of bird? – but decided against it at the last moment.

"We honestly had no idea that Zakuro-san was possibly a… a Mew," admitted Keiichiro, and one of the cameras swung to face him. "All that we did was infuse seven girls whose DNA was a suitable match to that of a red data animal, or endangered species. We had no idea exactly who we were targeting at the time."

"I guess this means a trip to the movie studios," put in Ryou, slowly and casually walking over to stand beside his partner.

"Oh, yeah," put in Sakura. "Isn't she filming a movie right now… _Cherry-Colored Summer_, I think it's called? I really wanted to see that."

_A movie studio?_ Ichigo thought with amazement. _For a moment… before I remembered _why _we were going… that seemed really cool! Could it be that becoming a "Mew Mew" could have its advantages, after all?_

Mint was still standing where she had stopped, looking almost ill. Sakura looked uncomfortable as well, although her face had had a slight glow ever since the mention of Zakuro's movie. Ryou looked slightly annoyed, and Keiichiro was smiling for no clear reason – rather typical behavior for the both of them, really. Ichigo found herself staring down with eyes watering, simply wishing that the reporter would leave and she could go to sleep. After such a long day, she simply wanted to shut everything off for a while, even if tomorrow would be just as miserable; perhaps a small part of her was still hoping that the entire evening had been but a dream.

"My next question is…" Arina began, appearing to be a bit hesitant, for once. "Well… why exactly are all the Mew Mews named after foods? You have strawberry and mint so far. If Zakuro really is a Mew, and her reported ears and tail aren't just a rumor or a publicity stunt as many believe, that adds in pomegranate as well."

All eyes instinctively turned to Keiichiro.

The brunette café manage shrugged. "I told you, I had nothing to do with it. If all seven girls turn out to have food names, then I suppose that it's fate."

"Ichigo's father is the one who named her," piped up Sakura. Ichigo stared at her mother, slightly embarrassed, but no one else seemed to pay the red-haired woman any notice.

"Well, I suppose that I have nothing more to ask of you," Arina stated, seeming rather upset by the thought. "This has been Arina Kawakubo, with News Japan."

Once every last cameraman had dragged their equipment outside the café, Ryou pulled the doors shut after them, slamming them a bit too hard. "Man, I thought they'd _never _leave!"

"I agree," Mint replied, seeming just as irritated as the blonde boy. Perking up a bit, she added, "But I can't believe that Zakuro Fujiwara is really one of us!"

"So you're a fan, huh?" observed Ryou, leaning against the wall and raising an eyebrow.

Looking down and gripping the edge of her skirt, as though embarrassed, Mint admitted quietly, "I… I want to be just like her."

Ichigo opened her mouth to ask why, but much to her surprise, Ryou beat her to it. "Why would you want to be like someone else, anyway? Aren't you happy with your life as it is?" he asked, and Mint looked up in surprise.

"But she's gorgeous!" the blue-haired girl insisted, her face turning red with what seemed to be a mixture of embarrassment and anger. "Beautiful, and talented – she can sing, dance, act, model… everything! And _her _parents are probably around to support her when –" Suddenly Mint cut herself off, clasping her hands to her mouth as if she could not control what words would come out next.

"Mint… you don't know that," Keiichiro said softly.

"And besides… you're pretty, as it is," added in Ichigo, feeling an actual stab of pain at complimenting the stuck-up girl. Still, she couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for the second Mew Mew.

"Whatever," Mint murmured.

"So, when do you think we can go to Zakuro's movie set?" Sakura asked, seeming desperate to change the subject.

"We would need to find out where –" pointed out Ryou.

"I know where it is," Mint replied quickly.

"Really." Ryou turned to look at her, smirking. "Well, little genius, can you tell me where she _lives_? Because if Arina Kawakubo knows that Zakuro is a Mew, then _everyone _knows. The movie's probably been cancelled, at any rate, or at least recasted."

"I think we should investigate the movie set first," insisted Mint. "Those big-shot directors are so weird, you never know what they'll do next. If onee-sama is actually a Mew Mew, they may be trying to pass it off as a stunt, or even take credit for her transformation."

"I suppose you have a point," admitted Ryou.

"This is amazing!" Sakura exclaimed, eyes sparkling. "Can Shintaro come with us, too?"

"W-wait!" blurted Ichigo, waving her hands back and forth frantically. "Hold everything! Just let me get this straight – on the basis of a rumor, we're travelling to a movie studio we may not even be able to get entrance to in order to find out if the famous celebrity Zakuro Fujiwara has suddenly grown animal parts, at the risk of looking both stupid _and _completely insane if we're wrong?"

Ryou nodded. "That's about it."

Ichigo fell silent, staring at Ryou with her mouth agape. "Unbelievable."

Sakura appeared unsure of what to say at first, but after a few seconds, with a bright smile and a thrilled expression, she chirped, "So, let's get packing!"


	5. Chapter 4: Alien Dance

Tokyo Mew Mew: Reborn

**Sorry this chapter took so long. I've been focused on finishing my Warriors fic, so I've been neglecting this one a bit, haven't I? Anyway, I think you'll all like this one… (wink)**

**Oh, and if you're wondering, Gliese 581 c **_**is **_**a real planet, which has the right conditions to support life. Also, every movie or TV studio mentioned so far is an actual studio in Japan.**

**Chapter Four: Alien Dance**

* * *

"Mint, are you sure you know where this studio is?" asked Ichigo, who was rather beginning to doubt that the bird-girl had a clue where she was leading them.

"Y-yes!" replied Mint, who didn't really sound sure herself.

"Mint, it's okay to admit if you don't know." Keiichiro was driving and couldn't turn to look at the Mew Mews in his car's backseat, but Ichigo could hear the compassion and gentleness in his voice.

"I really do know!" Mint insisted, but a second later, she added, "Although I may have forgotten the _exact _location."

"Do you remember what the name is?" asked Ryou from the passenger seat; although he didn't need to watch the road, he did not turn and make eye contact with Mint, either.

"I think it's the Toei Company," Mint replied.

"Oh, they have a studio in Tokyo!" Sakura, who was sitting between the two animal-girls, exclaimed. "Is it that studio, or the Kyoto one?"

"That's the part I can't remember," admitted Mint.

"We'll try the Tokyo studio first, then," said Keiichiro. "We're actually almost there, Mint. Your directions weren't far off."

Ichigo glanced at Mint; the blue-haired girl looked rather pleased with herself.

"Of course they weren't," the wealthy Mew Mew boasted. "I _am _Zakuro one-sama's number-one fan, after all."

"I wouldn't be so proud of that if I were you," Ichigo muttered to herself.

"Pardon?" asked Mint, facing Ichigo with her left eyebrow raised.

"Oh, nothing," Ichigo said, waving a hand dismissively and turning to stare out the window.

If Ichigo hadn't been looking out the window, she would have missed it altogether, for it was nothing more than a quick flash; however, the light that shone across the horizon was such an unusual shade of blue that she could tell immediately it was not natural. "Akasaka-san!" she gasped. "Stop the car!"

The vehicle screeched to an immediate stop; an angry driver behind Keiichiro's party slammed on the brakes just before ramming into their fender and honked angrily. "What's wrong, Ichigo?" asked Keiichiro breathlessly, trying to regain his composure as quickly as he could.

"There was a strange light coming from over there," Ichigo explained, pointing in the direction she had seen the flash.

"Oh, no…" groaned Ryou, burying his face in his hands. Ichigo could just make out his muffled words: "Why _now_?"

"What's going on?" asked Mint. "This isn't another one of those freaky…"

"We have to change course now," interrupted Keiichiro, quickly swerving the car to around and zooming down the opposite side of the road, managing to ignore the speed limit while still avoiding a catastrophe. Ryou and Keiichiro were the only ones who did not scream all the while.

Blurred scenery whizzed past the windows, and Ichigo could barely believe it when the vehicle suddenly came to a smooth, gentle stop. "Everyone out!" shouted Keiichiro, and the entire group nearly fell out of their doors, hurrying to get out as soon as they were opened.

"So what's going on, anyway?" demanded Ichigo, seeing that they were in the parking lot of a large building; only three vehicles were parked there, and an eerie feeling hung in the air. To add to the terror, there was nothing in sight that could have caused the mysterious light.

Ryou was silent for a few long moments before finally answering, "Aliens."

Ichigo, Mint and Sakura all exclaimed at once; while Ichigo cried, "No way!" Mint simply said, "Seriously?" and Sakura gasped, "Now?"

Keiichiro nodded. "As for that flash of light… we have determined that the aliens' form of attack is to attach a parasite from their world onto animals, which causes the animal to go wildly out of control. The parasites also seem to channel strange abilities through their hosts, such as firebreathing."

"Well, that sounds delightful," Mint said, throwing her head upwards to stare at the sky. "At this rate, we'll never find out if onee-sama is one of us."

"How are we supposed to fight?" Ichigo asked. She did not like the thought of hurting animals, but also was unsure how she would if she had to.

Keiichiro unlocked the trunk, reached in, and pulled out a plastic grocery bag that seemed to have something inside. "We have created voice-activated weapons for each Mew Mew," he explained. Pulling out a pink, berry-shaped ring with a bell attached to a golden heart at the top, he continued, "Ichigo, this is your weapon. We're calling it the 'Strawbell Bell.' And Mint, this is yours, the 'Mintone Arrow,'" he added, producing a blue bow and arrow from the bag.

"They're voice-activated," explained Ryou, taking the weapons from Keiichiro and handing them to their respective Mew Mews. "We've set up a special phrase for you to say in order to use them, using voice samples we recorded."

"When did you do that?" Ichigo gasped.

"Last night," Mint answered. Ichigo looked at her, confused. The blue-haired girl went on to explain, "I was feeling restless, so Ryou and I took care of mine, and then we recorded you talking in your sleep."

"You did _what_?" cried Ichigo.

"The bell fires narrow but powerful lasers," Ryou went on, as if he hadn't heard her, "and the arrow is sure to burn whatever it touches, once fired. Your job is to destroy the parasite while making sure that you do not injure the animal."

"That sounds impossible," Mint commented.

"As impossible as sprouting wings, you mean?"

For what seemed to be an eternity, everyone was silent.

"Ichigo. Your password is 'Reborn Strawberry Check,'" Keiichiro finally said. "You must only say this when you are absolutely certain that you want to attack."

"Mint, yours is 'Reborn Mint Echo,'" Ryou added.

"That seems a little silly," Mint said.

"Perhaps," Ryou allowed with a shrug.

Keiichiro explained, "We wanted it to be something that you had an extremely low chance of saying by accident, which is why the passwords seem a bit strange."

"Okay, so why are we standing around talking when some alien-possessed animal is on the loose?" Ichigo burst out.

"Well, we haven't seen any signs of –" began Sakura, but just at that moment, a small, mangy dog stepped conveniently from the shadow of one of the sparse vehicles. A clear, jellyfish-like creature not much larger than Ichigo's cell phone was attached to the dog's back, its tentacles spread around the body of the animal. The look on the stray's face was horrible, its eyes wild and lips drawn back in a snarl; its curly brown hair seemed to bristle uncontrollably, and its floppy ears were held straight out in an impossible position.

Mint recoiled, a look of pure shock on her face. Ichigo felt a tremor of fear rumble throughout her body; whether it was because she was a cat, she did not know. It seemed to her that this dog, taken over by an alien creature, would be a frightening and grotesque sight to anyone.

"Well, there you go," Ryou remarked, as if the dog's appearance was nothing short of natural."

"Mint, Ichigo, you know what to do!" Keiichiro shouted. "I'll be rooting for you girls!"

"Oh, _do _be careful!" pleaded Sakura as Ichigo, Strawbell Bell in hand, summoned all of her courage and rushed forward. As Ichigo ran on, she became aware of Mint flying beside her, matching her speed even as she accelerated, faster and faster.

Much to her surprise, Ichigo was already nearing the dog, which stood completely still – the alien parasite was a perfect target. _What do you know… this is going to be easy!_

Raising her weapon in front of her and grabbing it with both hands, Ichigo called out her password. "Reborn Strawberry Check!"

A laser emerged from the bell's center, white in color and as narrow as a pencil. The light it emitted was blinding, and Ichigo was forced to shield her eyes. Much to her delight, her aim had been spot-on, and the laser approached the parasite at an alarming speed. Closer… and closer…

At the very last moment, the dog dodged.

As the animal, controlled by the alien, jumped out of the way, the laser instead founds its mark on the shiny red sports car that the dog had been in front of. Out of the corner of her eye, Ichigo could see that while the dog was moving, the alien's center glowed with red light; as the vehicle burst into flames, she could help but think, _That won't be easy to replace._

"Oh, come on!" Ryou called from somewhere in the background.

"I don't think that's what we're supposed to do, Ichigo," Mint stated, swooping down and letting her feet touch the ground.

"Well, thanks a lot for telling me that; I'll do my best to prevent it in the future," Ichigo replied sarcastically.

"Why don't you let me give it a try?" the bird-girl suggested. "I can fly, after all?"

"What does _that _have to do with it?" protested Ichigo, but Mint was already back in the air and chasing after the dog.

Defeated, Ichigo could do nothing but watch as Mint circled over the dog, which was running towards a white pickup truck. Mint aimed at the alien on its back as the dog slowed down, adjusting her weapon every second to follow the movement of the animal. Ichigo thought that the whole thing seemed a bit too risky.

"Reborn Mint Echo!" Mint yelled, shooting the Mintone Arrow from its bow. The dog quickly ducked under the truck and emerged on the other side in almost no time at all. Mint's arrow, similarly to the laser from Ichigo's bell, ended up embedded in the side of the pickup, and a huge hole that looked as if it were burned by acid spread rapidly across the door.

"Niiiiiiiice," Ichigo snapped as Mint flew guiltily back to her, arrow retrieved from the truck.

"Look, do you want to fight about it, or do you want to team up?" Mint fired back.

"What?"

"Look, I have a plan, but you're going to have to trust me."

"Ok, I'm listening. What is it?"

Mint began to explain her idea. "I think that you should drive it towards the wall of the building – corner it, you know. Then, I'll fly overhead and finish it off."

"I guess it's worth a shot," agreed Ichigo. She turned and ran towards the curly-haired dog, which growled and lunged at her. Dodging quickly, Ichigo held up her bell; as she expected, the animal began to back away, snarling. Feeling rather satisfied, Ichigo pushed the dog further and further back, eventually cornering it against the wall. _Hurry up, Mint, before it escapes!_

"Reborn Mint Echo!"

Before the dog had time to react, an arrow plunged straight downward from the sky, piercing the parasite. Ichigo watched in disgust as the arrow's tip glowed inside the clear body, which quickly dissolved from the heat. The arrow immediately cooled once the parasite was gone; it then fell from the air and bounced off the dog's back, coming to a rest on the pavement.

The dog shook itself and looked around, seeming confused; apparently not realizing what had just happened, it trotted off in a few moments.

Ryou, Keiichiro, and Sakura walked up to the Mew Mews. "Excellent job, girls!" Keiichiro exclaimed.

"I don't think Kobayashi and his friends are going to appreciate what you did to these cars, though," Ryou commented.

Ichigo glowered at him, lashing her tail. "Listen, you –"

She was cut off by maniacal laughter from above.

Looking up, Ichigo could see a silhouette on the roof of the building. _Who – or what – is that?_

Ichigo didn't have to wonder long. A moment later, the stranger leaped from the roof of the building, but he never hit the ground; instead, he stopped just a few inches from the parking lot, floating in midair.

Ichigo gawked at the stranger. Never in her life had she seen anyone more odd-looking – his pale skin, forest-green ponytails, and golden, catlike eyes were unusual enough, but when combined with his bizarre outfit, he appeared downright… alien.

Of course, Ichigo had never imagined aliens as wearing something like a brown vest over a short green shirt that exposed their stomach, baggy shorts with a piece of fabric similar to a loincloth in front, and bandages on their arms and legs. But if one thing about this mysterious man was clear, it was that he was from the planet of Gliese 581 c.

"My name is Kish," said the alien. "That was a good show, good show! I think you girls are going to be rather interesting opponents."

Pulling out her bell almost without thinking, Ichigo ran towards Kish. "Reborn –"

But suddenly, Kish was gone. Ichigo cried out and stumbled, nearly hitting the ground in her shock.

Turning to face her companions, she could see the seriousness of the situation in everyone's faces. Eventually, Ryou spoke.

"Well, everyone, I think we've officially met the enemy."


End file.
